Vernacular Aristotelianism in Renaissance Italy, c. 1400-c. 1650

As far as is known, this was the first funded research project world-wide to study the Renaissance diffusion of Aristotelian works in the Italian vernacular. The project ran from October 2010 to December 2013, as a collaboration (funded by an AHRC standard grant, around £500k) between the University of Warwick (Centre for the Study of the Renaissance) and the Warburg Institute in London. This initiative tried to redress the almost exclusive concentration on Latin Aristotelianism among historians of philosophy and ideas in recent decades and provided an electronic census and description of all relevant materials in both manuscript and print. (Click on 'database' in the page's toolbar to access the census.)

The project brought together historians of language, literature, philosophy, science and culture to explore how Aristotelianism increasingly reached a broad and non-Latinate public. It was led by David Lines (PI, Warwick) together with Simon Gilson (Warwick) and Jill Kraye (The Warburg Institute, London) as Co-Is. The research fellow was Eugenio Refini, and the PhD student was Grace Allen. The project partner was Luca Bianchi (Univ. del Piemonte Orientale, Vercelli).

The project, which has already given rise (as mentioned above) to an electronic census of relevant works as well as to several articles, is also resulting in the publication of the proceedings of its two international colloquia (Pisa, September 2012 and London, June 2013).

Aristotele fatto volgare: Aristotelian Philosophy

and the Vernacular in the Renaissance

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The project, involving a collaboration between the University of Warwick and the Warburg Institute in London, is led by Dr David Lines (Warwick, Department of Italian), with the support at Warwick of Professor Simon Gilson and, at the Warburg Institute, of Professor Jill Kraye. Professor Luca Bianchi (Vercelli), along with a distinguished group of scholars on the project's advisory board, is providing further expertise. A crucial part in the development of this project is played by the research fellow, Dr Eugenio Refini (based at Warwick), and by the PhD student, Miss Grace Allen (based at the Warburg).

Seed money for exploring the topic and its feasibility was provided by Warwick's Research Development Fund, which allowed Lines and Gilson to organize an exploratory workshop in Venice in September 2007.